Summer Practice
by chocomelly
Summary: It's too damn hot, and Aomine can't think straight; he skips practice only to be joined by Kuroko, who doesn't seem to be helping his situation. A quick one-shot about teenage hormones and summer heat. (Implied AoKuro)


Hhh I was going through old writing and editing things out of boredom when I found this little drabble! I initially wrote it last Christmas as part of a KnB Secret Santa gift exchange. Admittedly my preferred ship is the boring and all-too-expected KagaKuro, but I pretty much love any ship that's KuroCentric, and Aomine's a great character/ so this was still super fun for me to write!

Hope you guys enjoy ahaha / ;;

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"Ah, damn it, it's hot . . ."

Aomine sat hunched as he wiped the perspiration from his brow, quietly cursing the sun for being straight overhead and as glaringly hot as ever. Even in the shade there was no escape from the heat—it was just one of those days.

Though, come to think of it, since when had it become shady? He didn't remember there being any trees around here, unless . . .

"Aomine?"

"Nn. Tetsu . . . What are you doing here?" the dark-skinned teen tilted back his head and lazily flickered his gaze upward to meet the empty stare of his proclaimed 'shadow'. Kuroko seemed to move with no real purpose and sat beside him, Aomine wincing as sunlight suddenly burned in his eyes in the newfound absence of shade. He found himself smirking for a reason annoyingly unapparent to him.

Kuroko didn't really answer his question, but if Aomine minded any he didn't seem to show it. The other boy looked casual even out of his jersey, Aomine noticed, wearing just a faded t-shirt and shorts that didn't quite fit. What preoccupied him more than Kuroko's lazy manner of dress however was the way his shirt seemed to gape at the neck while it clung to him in other places from the heat, and how his fair skin shone with a light sheen of sweat. He was for some reason holding in his hand what appeared to be the broken-off half of a popsicle, which was slowly melting though it looked otherwise untouched.

"What's that?" Aomine asked with disinterest, obviously knowing what it was but making pointless small talk. It was a little game of his to get Kuroko talking though he was never sure if he found himself more amused by the boy's almost robotic behavior, or by the rare, fleeting glimpse of something more human.

"Momoi gave me half of hers," the boy responded matter-of-factly. Aomine snorted lightly, knowing all about Momoi's affections for Kuroko. If the kid was aware of them himself he was completely impervious to them.

"Do you want it, Aomine?"

Aomine lightly bared his teeth for just a brief moment, as if in disgust, before shrugging him off. Despite that he doubted the thing had ever touched Kuroko's lips he had no intention of taking that risk. He mentally berated himself for thinking of something so childish as an 'indirect kiss' even if that thought had been a mere millisecond of a flash in his mind. "You should eat it. A pale scrawny kid like you will easily get heatstroke, you know—if you don't stay hydrated."

"Are you concerned for me?" There was no hint of making-fun in Kuroko's voice—well, there was never a whole lot of anything in his voice, but Aomine thought the look in his puppy-like eyes seemed genuine enough. When he didn't immediately answer, Kuroko added, as if to reassure him somehow, "I drink plenty of water, Aomine."

The lean, dark-haired boy couldn't hold back a scoff at that one. This unbearable heat was messing with his temper, "Hardly. I was just pointing out that you're weak." He said a bit meanly. He didn't have the heart to look over and see Kuroko's expression right away. Sometimes even Tetsu was capable of having his feelings hurt, Aomine reminded himself, though he always pretended not to notice. What would be even worse, though, somehow, would be to see the boy not even bat an eye, as if to say he believed Aomine and agreed with him. Damn right he was weak, and if it weren't for his passes he really would be utterly hopeless at basketball; still, it irked Aomine somehow to see him without confidence.

When he did at last look over, however, the boy seemed to have a completely unreadable, vacant expression, the popsicle now tucked thoughtfully between his lips. Silence fell between them, the only sound the dull thrumming of cicadas chirping noisily in the trees, excited in the sweltering summer heat.

Aomine leaned back against the bench and fanned himself lightly with the lower-half of his shirt, exposing his tanned torso to cool his body, tired of the restraints of sticky fabric. This heat was ridiculous. He clenched his fist and pretended not to notice when Kuroko's eyes quickly darted over the newly exposed skin and back. Another exaggerated silence passed between them before the fairer boy spoke at last, "Why don't you go inside?"

Aomine felt annoyed. It was a stupid question, but made all the more stupid when he realized he didn't even have a good answer. "It's annoying. I don't feel like dealing with people right now. Besides it's not much cooler. . . " he grumbled, allowing the silence to resume once more.

He watched, from the corner of his eye, the watery blue trickle of melting popsicle as it slid in a sticky line down the boy's chin, and neck, along his barely exposed clavicles until it disappeared into his shirt. As he surveyed the heavenly mix of blue ice and red tongue he imagined the taste of it, sticky sweet and salty sweat on Tetsu's neck. He wondered how far it had dripped down his slender, white stomach before finally dying out.

When his fingers brushed against the back of that neck he felt his eyes widen with surprise before returning to a carefully controlled glare.

A bug. He would say it was a bug—it would be strange to Kuroko, or anyone for that matter, for Aomine to bother with even a bug but it was a hell of a lot better than the truth, whatever the truth even was. He didn't know why he'd done it. But he never got the chance to explain.

Kuroko didn't move or so much as flinch. He didn't say anything nor did he turn to Aomine for explanation. Somehow this was much worse, Aomine thought. Staring at Kuroko, who seemed to have become quite fixated himself on the gravelly dirt at their feet, he couldn't help wondering if the slowly spreading flush on the boy's fair cheek was wholly due to the summer heat or not.

He was better off not knowing, he reasoned. It was just hormones, anyway. He turned his gaze away, muttering to himself,

"Ah, damn it, it's hot . . ."


End file.
